Now, instead of the seemingly-solo focused and stylized game previously on display, Ubisoft is refocusing the series on cooperative play. That's one of Ghost Recon Future Soldier's three pillars: the squad. From campaign to multiplayer, there's a running thread: Work together or die.

In the campaign, there are new tools enabling players to work together. Teammates can revive each other when downed, and allies can mark hazards like grenades, depending on their selected perks and abilities. This is part of the intel system in Ghost Recon Future Soldier. There are 13 ways to collect intel, and as Ubisoft stressed at our pre-E3 event a couple of weeks ago, one man with Intel is better than three without, making it another one of Ghost Recon Future Soldier's pillars.

Players will want to keep this in mind while making their way through missions, as enemies are as likely to be a source of information as not. Taking them down stealthily without killing them yields an interrogation that can completely change your understanding of the battlefield. Then there are the Ghost Recon standbys, like UAVs, which allow better coordination between teammates and provide recon in unfriendly areas.

Reconnaissance could save a life too, and not just your own - civilians play a part in Ghost Recon Future Soldier, as your team of ghosts are frequently tasked with moving through urban combat zones without benefit of an absent local populace.

Of course, with Intel and squad dynamics comes the final pillar, combat. Unfortunately, this is Ghost Recon Future Soldier's Achilles' heel right now. Game performance is rough, and this currently has a major effect on controls and general combat effectiveness. Put simply, the cover system is only sort of working, and aiming and movement are sluggish. There's a decent amount of heft to the weapons, but firefights are as much a struggle against frustration as the enemies coming toward you.

Still, Ghost Recon Future Soldier has even more time before release to get it all together - it's been delayed from a Fall 2011 release window to some time in 2012. It seems clear that Ubisoft is willing to give Ghost Recon Future Soldier as much time as they need to in order to make it the game that brings the series back to relevancy in the modern shooter environment, and that respects the series' ten-year legacy.